US broadens definition of rape; includes male victimsBy NBC News and wire

The Obama administration on Friday broadened the definition of the crime of rape to include more forms of sexual assaults such as rape of men and oral or anal sex, the first major revision to the definition in more than 80 years.

The new definition will include any gender of the victim and attacker and also assaults in which a victim cannot give consent because the individual has been incapacitated by drugs or alcohol, is under the age of consent, or is mentally or physically incapable of consent, the Justice Department said.

Physical resistance from the victim is not required to demonstrate lack of consent in the new definition, NBC reported.

"This long-awaited change to the definition of rape is a victory for women and men across the country whose suffering has gone unaccounted for over 80 years," Vice President Joe Biden said in a statement.

While reports of rape to authorities are likely to rise, the Justice Department said that will only reflect more accurate reporting rather than the number of actual attacks increasing.

"This new, more inclusive definition will provide us with a more accurate understanding of the scope and volume of these crimes," Attorney General Eric Holder said in a statement.

A rape every 6.2. minutes, data showBased on reports from law enforcement authorities, the FBI estimated in 2010 that there were almost 85,000 forcible rapes under the old definition, the latest raw data available, and that one occurs in the United States every 6.2 minutes.

Preliminary FBI statistics show that the forcible rape rate declined 5.1 percent in the first half of 2011 compared to the same period of the previous year.

The administration said this expansive definition more accurately tracks rapes but will not change state or federal laws used to prosecute rape, most of which already incorporate the more expansive definitions, NBC reported Friday.

"All victims of these horrendous crimes deserve justice and should have access to the comprehensive services that will help them rebuild their lives," said Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), chairman of the Judiciary Committee.

For years, interest groups have been pushing for a change in the definition of forcible rape, which since 1927 was defined as the carnal knowledge of a woman, forcibly and against her will. That included penetration of a woman's vagina, but excluded oral or anal penetration and the rape of men.

The new definition is: "The penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with any body part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person, without the consent of the victim."

This is HUGE. Now I too can call it correctly what it was and not just "sexual assault," but rather O and A Rape.Thank you so much Ken for informing us of this development as I have always been highly discouraged by the unfair definition that has been assigned to those of different genders. At least now in definition, which i believe leads to public awareness, we are getting closer to equality and rightfully claiming that what happened to us was as equally damaging and getting non-survivor's to recognize this, I hope.

Logan

_________________________
"Terrible thing to live in Fear"-Shawshank Redemption WOR Alumnus Hope Springs 2009"Quite a thing to live in fear, this is what is means to be a slave"-Blade Runner

That's great! I always said I was raped. Now, it's the right word and they'll agree. This is only half of what needs to happen.

Step 2, hope all states pass REQUIRED Life Sentences for Pedos next.

Step 3, Require all institutions including churches report CSA allegations to the cops. If they refuse, it's a felony and 5 years mandatory.

Pedos deserve society's scorn. Hell, even regular criminals hate them. That should tell us a lot about Pedos being useless to society. Or, stick them all on an island together and let them fend for themselves.

It's time to tell pedos and potential pedos, your sickness is no longer tolerated.

Note: The FBI chief asked for this in 2001. Ridiculous it wasn't done in 2001.

Edited by phoenix321 (01/06/1209:51 PM)Edit Reason: add

_________________________
Phoenix

A guy opens the front door and sees a snail on his doorstep. He picks up the snail and throws it across the street in a neighbor's yard. A year later, the guy opens the front door and the same snail is on his doorstep. The snail says, "What the f*ck was that about?"

Good to see. I remember a text on counseling published in 1988 that I read as a college Social Work major. It defined CSA as when an adult male forces intercourse with a female minor. In discussing how to counsel abuse survivors, he goes on to discuss the difficulty that survivors have in getting anyone to believe an upstanding member of the community could do such things to their daughters. It is kind of sad that it took this long.

_________________________
God grant meThe Serenity to accept the things I cannot change,The Courage to change the things I can,And the Wisdom to know the difference.

Now the trick will be to get actual convictions and jail sentances, but this is definitely a good bloody start.

Friggin' took them long enough, but it's there. I was NOT 'sexually assaulted', I was 'raped' and there is a HUGE goddamn bloody difference between the two. And the sense that they try to water it down by calling it an SA instead of what it was has irritated the HELL out of me since that night happened!

I think most states have gender-free definitions of rape. For example, from the Virginia criminal code:

Section 18.2-61 Rape.

A. If any person has sexual intercourse with a complaining witness who is not his or her spouse or causes a complaining witness, whether or not his or her spouse, to engage in sexual intercourse with any other person and such act is accomplished (i) against the complaining witness's will, by force, threat or intimidation of or against the complaining witness or another person, or (ii) through the use of the complaining witness's mental incapacity or physical helplessness, or (iii) with a child under age thirteen as the victim, he or she shall be guilty of rape. B. If any person has sexual intercourse with his or her spouse and such act is accomplished against the spouse's will by force, threat or intimidation of or against the spouse or another, he or she shall be guilty of rape.

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